


Stranger To Most, Well Known To Few

by Amethyst_Lightsphere



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: I thought Nea's last name is Campbell?, It will be a long fic, M/M, Nea and past!Allen is platonic, Not Beta Read, Not so sure about the violence part though, We get there when we get there, headcanons, it may be softer, or one living hell, strange bonding experience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-09-28 17:13:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10141031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethyst_Lightsphere/pseuds/Amethyst_Lightsphere
Summary: When a magical ritual happened, Allen Walker vanished, replaced by a strange man with red hair who resembled Allen. It was annoying as hell, but Kanda had to rectify the situation. Though, with Kanda’s renowned people skill, convincing a melodramatic scientist-slash-magician might take forever, much to his dismay.





	1. An Unexpected Outcome

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bunch of headcanons I have had for a long time since chapter 220. They feel very possible, at least in my head.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Things always had to turn up bizarre when exorcists and Noahs were involved._

Kanda couldn’t remember the last time he had to run so fast like this.

Maybe he had never had to. After all, Kanda was the type of guy who’d rather cut down all troubles that came his way than avoid them. Akuma, Noah, dead-friend-who-returned-as-a-demon. Even fellow exorcists had been stabbed. To die fighting had always been one way to live in his opinion, and it wouldn’t go away any time soon.

However, right now, a life depended on him. Allen’s life. Kanda didn’t know how the little shit had managed to wrestle the control of his body from the Fourteenth, but he had decided to spend it on going to the old mansion where Nea once lived. Upon his arrival, the Noah were there as the welcome party. The familiarity of his clansmen’s face and the place had evoked the Fourteenth, resulting in a bloody battle both within Allen and out on the open field surrounding the Campbell residence.

Since Kanda had been accompanying the beansprout, he joined in the battle. Half way through, the Noah decided to remove the presence of Allen’s supporter, namely him. A door was opened and he got dragged through by Tyki Mikk. Both ended up at somewhere a good distance from the Campbell mansion.

That got Kanda furious. More so as Tyki openly mocked and challenged him. Unlucky for him, Kanda knew better. So he ignored the provocation and tried to get back to Allen instead of engaging the Noah in combat. He didn’t come back so the beansprout got erased so easily like that.

As expected, Tyki tried to intercept Kanda. He had to trade blows with the bastard a few times while advancing towards his destination. At some point, a great explosion had occurred in the direction of the mansion. A pillar of light pierced the sky together with currents of energy flowing everywhere. Somehow it made Kanda’s blood go cold. It didn’t help that Tyki had a smirk on at that and jumped through a gate, not before throwing one last comment of “You are too late, exorcist.” Whatever the Noah did, ‘pleasant’ was definitely not the word to describe it.

Not wasting a moment, Kanda ran at his fastest speed possible. The closer he got, the denser the energy became. It also put pressure on his body. Sometimes Kanda encountered low-leveled Akuma on his way, forcing him to make quick works of them.

As he traversed, Kanda steeled himself for the worst: Nea’s full revival. The Noah might or might not defend their returned clansman, seeing as their relationship was complicated as fuck. In case they did, well, the Fourteenth would be well-defended. Adding in Howard Link - who by now Kanda knew aligned with Nea, it certainly would be even harder to kill the man. Nea himself was powerful, too. Outnumbered like that, Kanda would not get out of the ordeal alive. Even so, he would make sure to drag the Fourteenth with him to the afterlife for good this time.

Like that, Kanda’s resolve hardened one last time. Good timing as well, as he finally was back at the scene.

The mansion and its beautiful field were razed thoroughly. In the middle of it was the pillar of light, with its base expanded. A body was inside, barely visible by the blinding light that wrapped around him. That was Allen for sure. The Noah were surrounding the pillar, likely to make a defense line. One of them was fighting with Link.

“So you’re back, Kanda Yuu.” Kanda whipped his head to the speaker. It was Wisely, the fucker who he despised a tad more than his clansmen since the incident with Alma.

“Obviously, eye-brain.” He spat with all contempt he had for the bastard while raising his sword.

“And once again, you’re too late to stop what is in motion. How do you feel, now that you’re going to lose another important person?” That’s it. This fucker had to die, preferably by his Mugen, definitely by his Mugen, after Nea if he was the one who emerged.

“ _Murder._ ” was Kanda’s reply as he leapt at Wisely, swinging Mugen down.

“Whoa whoa! I’m not the guy to look for in a physical fight! Kindly take it to Tyki over there, please.” The Noah dodged his attack with ease while gesturing to Tyki.

With Wisely jumping out of his way creating an opening, Kanda switched to dashing to the pillar of light.

“Idiot! You let him through!” Tyki yelled and ran over to stop him. One more joined in to help.

Things quickly devolved into a mad scramble. The Noah tried to push Kanda back while he was determined to reach Allen. One versus two was sorely pitiful on Kanda’s part as he couldn’t advance an inch. Step by step, he was forced to back away from his goal. One hard strike made him bounce back, softly colliding with another, whose aura told him that was Link.

“I want to call a truce.” Spoke Link. “We work together to get through to Walker.”

“Don’t call his name, traitor.” Kanda growled with venom in his tone. He didn’t know whether the CROW’s face had any changes as he didn’t bother to look, but with his still steady aura, likely it’s not. How _professional_.

“The Noah will have an advantage over both of us if he falls into their hands. I’d rather the alternative.” Kanda knew right away that the ‘us’ did not refer to him and Link. However, he had to agree that letting the Noah have their way was a big ‘no’.

“Make it worth.” And both of them split. This time, they worked in tandem, making strikes after strikes, slowly creating a path. Not that they were a great match-up, but rather they were skilled enough not to obstruct each other.

It wasn’t terrible like minutes ago, as Kanda was progressing towards Allen. In his opinion though, this was too slow.

“Wisely, can’t you read their minds or something? We need an edge here.” Tyki called.

“Impossible. It’s mostly their muscle memories at work there. Besides, just holding them is enough.”

“Are you blind, eye-brain? They’re advancing!” Tyki was not pleased with the answer.

“Don’t adopt the exorcist’s insult!” Wisely yell indignantly. “The ritual will be done any minute now.”

Of course, the fucker’s words had to come true at that exact moment with an even greater explosion than before, blowing dirt and debris everywhere. Akuma were vanquished in an instant. Kanda, Link and the Noah were swept up into the air like dry leaves.

Twirling mid-air, Kanda positioned himself for a sound landing with a barely audible ‘thud’. The same to Link. The Noah were not out of shape either, except Wisely who was hit in the head by a stray brick and dropped like a ragged doll, much to Kanda’s glee.

However, Kanda didn’t get to be delighted for long. The pillar of light shrank to human shape, then slowly faded away. Whatever ritual it was had been done. Kanda gripped Mugen tighter, readied his stance for the worst outcome. Not just him, everybody was also tense with anticipation. When the face was revealed, though…

Kanda didn’t know what to do.

The young man who emerged was not a Noah, for he had neither of the dark skin and the cross-shaped stigmata on his forehead. Not Allen either, since he had red hair and donned a pair of circle-framed glasses. But no doubt that had Allen been a few years older, the beansprout would have been his mirror image san hair.

“What the hell is this, Wisely?” Tyki seized Wisely’s collar, lifting him up from the ground and started shaking him awake.

“Huh…aah…stop it, Tyki…” the Noah moaned as he raised a hand to cover his head injury. “I’m not…responsible for it.”

Tyki was merciless with his shaking. “At least tell me why a strange guy is there instead of the Fourteenth?”

“I don’t know. Alchemy is not my forte.”

While the Noah bickered among themselves, Kanda had his eyes on the new face. He approached the man with caution since he didn’t know if he was friend or foe.

When he was a few feet from the red-haired man, he stirred. His eyes flew open, sporting brilliant silver. Scanning the view in front of him, he then curled his lips into a half-smile before speaking up for the first time.

“Well well, what do we have here?”


	2. Introduction And Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Getting away from the Noah before any serious talk **was** proper business code._

 

Despite being under Kanda’s death stare, the man wasn’t intimidated at all. Rather, he looked amused.

“So this is what I wake up to after the ritual. My, how fortunate I am.”Anyone could tell a shit-eating grin when they saw one, and right now it was on the man’s face.

“What are you blabbering about, four-eyes? Who are you? Where is Allen Walker?” Kanda snarled. He was so sure that the ritual was to bring back the Fourteenth. However, the result had been the man in front of him. From what he had said, he fucking _knew_ something about it.

The man, still grinning, gestured to both Kanda and the Noah, who by now had stopped squabbling and was burning holes into the man with their eyes. “Oh come on, mister exorcist. Two greatest forces on this world are looking at me like I’m a threat. If this isn’t a feat then what is?”

Kanda just glared harder.

“Ah, did you mean the ceremony? It is to bring me and another back to life by sacrificing a third one, whom I presume to be your ‘Allen Walker’. The other one is Nea, but you already knew that.” The man made a show of looking around in a casual manner as if he was standing in a park and not a battlefield. “Do you see him?”

“Just you, four-eyes.” He barked, feeling his blood boil in his veins. First Exorcist business, next a Noah's vessel. And now, a sacrifice for some crazy spell. Just how much more misfortune Allen Walker must suffer before fate called it quit?

The red head merely raised a hand to push up his glasses. “So it is half done, huh?”

The words rang clear in Kanda’s head. In his knowledge, spells, especially sacrifices, produced effects equaled to the amount of power provided to them. The ritual had been to trade Allen’s life for two’s but only one got revived, so maybe the beansprout wasn’t gone _yet_. But, before Kanda could even think about what to do though, he would need all information about the ritual first, which only those Noah and four-eyes had.

The choice was obvious.

“You seem awfully interested, mister exorcist.” Four-eyes chose that moment to speak up. Kanda looked straight at him and shivered, recognizing the interest in those silver eyes. The Order’s scientists had the same look whenever they found something that piqued their curiosity.

“Give up. That man is ours.” Wisely’s voice cut in, prompting Kanda to turn around. The fucker must have read his mind again.

The Noah had summoned more Akuma through their gate. Except Wisely who refused to actively fight, there were three Noah and their henchmen while Kanda was alone. Well, not truly, if he reluctantly counted in Link and four-eyes, who had Crown Clown. The CROW was more likely to grab four-eyes and bolt as soon as possible, though.

“Are you Noah hunting me?” The red head’s expression was surprisingly neutral, his eyes calculating.

“Are those glasses for fashion only?” Kanda couldn’t help the sarcastic remark.

“For many purposes unfathomable to you.” The man retorted. “Here’s a deal, mister exorcist: get me out of here, and I will disclose your Allen Walker’s status.”

That perked Kanda’s attention. Four-eyes was the one currently in control of Allen’s body. Of course he might know.

“Why should I care about a dead person?” He tried to fish for more. A confirmation. A denial. Something to determine his next course of action.

The man smiled, not taking the bait. “You do not think he’s dead, mister exorcist. That or I am blind, which, isn’t true at all. Anyway, I will not say anything until I’m safe.”

That answer helped Kanda settle on the deal. “You know running on foot won’t cut it.” He changed topic with the subtlety of a raging tornado, but like he gave a damn.

Four-eyes’ smile took on a condescending quality. “I can open a gate like the Noah,” No wonder he was conceited: he shared Allen’s knowledge of the White Ark. “You will have to buy me time though, because my memory is still a bit messy to remember the full sequence for it. Also, I hope you like playing bodyguard, since the enemy can follow.”

“Don’t worry about the last part, four-eyes. Just be quick.” Kanda then charged forward, the same time as the Noah.

“That reminds me,” Nicholas called after him with a flippant tone. “My name is Nicholas Marian. Nick, if you like. And you?”

Maybe Kanda should stab him. After the problem had been solved, obviously.

“Kanda. Now shut up!” He shouted back, then threw himself into the fray.

This time, the roles in the fight were reversed: Kanda and Link tried to block the Noah from reaching Nicholas while they strived to capture the man. Kanda ducked his head to avoid a blow, letting a talisman fly past and explode in Tyki’s face. With a whisper, he released the Second Illusion, jumped high into the air before driving the blades into an Akuma. Using the traction of withdrawing his weapons, Kanda propelled himself back toward the Noah below, his swords’ edge out in a chopping motion. Tyki dodged in time by moving back a few steps. At the third, he bounced back toward Kanda with his hand throwing out, intending to take advantage of the vulnerable moment of him landing. Link stopped him short with a flying kick, sailing over Kanda’s hunched form.

From the crouching position, Kanda launched at the other two Noah, who were running to their target. Seeing him coming, they each raised their weapons to deflect. Several seconds passed in a standstill as Kanda exerted more force to hold his opponents in place, then the two Noah swept his swords to the side.

It dragged on for a while. Akuma were soon wiped out by either Mugen or Noah’s powerful blast of Dark Matter. Wisely, though relatively free, didn’t summon more of those damn things and only idled at one spot far from the brawl. Which was rather odd in Kanda’s opinion, since the fucker could just go and snatch Nicholas away while he’s busy. 

All of a sudden, a barrage of tiny crown-shaped rings flew past Kanda to Wisely’s feet, making him jump to left. Two more rounds followed, landing a step or two in front of the fucker; their impact dug up and scattered dust in the air causing the Noah to cough and tear up. A ball of light, the power of which was not from Innocence, hit him squarely in the chest. He abruptly dropped to ground, twitching violently.

Perplexed, Kanda cast a glance behind his back. What he saw was a figure cladded in white cloak, the fabric fluttering gently with the wind. Thin claws had grown from his left hand, extended in a pointing gesture. The monochrome mask perched sideway on the hood covering the head with the feather trim fluffed up, hiding the face of the wearer. The sight was so familiar that Kanda’s breathing stopped for a moment.

He thought he was seeing Allen.

“Do not try to play with my brain, ever.” The illusion was shattered by the ice in Nicholas’ voice. Kanda blinked, took a deep breath, and looked. His eyes zoomed in at the Innocence’s different design - wispy patterns made of zigzag lines and geometric shapes, the waning light of magic at one talon’s tip, blood red hair and a face lacking expression.

Kanda tore his gaze away. He couldn’t believe that he had confused Allen with fucking _Nicholas_. Though they had the same body, they were still two different people, for God's sake. That thought alone made him angry to the point of wanting to kick himself, but now wasn’t the time for trivials.

Kanda focused back to his opponents. The sudden display had made a window of opportunity for him. He gave a hard kick to one Noah’s stomach, making him recoil before slashing at the other’s arm. The Noah backed away, fast enough to avoid having a severed limb, but not for a deep wound running from shoulder to waist.

The fight resumed. After what happened, the Noah were more cautious, watching for any attack from Nicholas whilst going against Kanda and Link. As for Nicholas, he simply stood there with a straight face on. The man made no further moves, but he didn’t dismiss the Innocence, either. Nothing more dangerous than an unpredictable adversary like he currently was.

But then, he hollered. “It’s done, mister Kanda.”

True to Nicholas’ words, six giant concentric circles with a big question mark inside appeared on the ground behind him, glowing faintly. Immediately, Kanda turned around and made a beeline for the gate. The Noah followed but were impeded by the relentless stream of rings fired by Nicholas. Kanda released a swarm of insects for good measure before one final leap. To his annoyance, Link also got in the gate.

Bright light flashed, making Kanda squint. When his vision returned to normal, he found himself no longer at the pulverized Campbell estate. The town they were transported to was unknown to Kanda. Still, he didn’t lower his level of awareness for the possibility of nearby Akuma.

“No Noah? How peculiar.” Nicholas commented as he took in the surrounding.

“Your gate was of the White Ark. They use the Black’s.” Kanda answered while sheathing Mugen.

“And your friend has abandoned us without an introduction,” Nicholas was talking about Link. “A shame, really. He seems like fine company.”

Kanda already knew that when Link’s aura faded. Good riddance, too. “Don’t mention the bastard when talking to me.” He growled.

“Oh well. What’s gone is gone,” Nicholas started walking in a direction. From the relaxed posture, Kanda guessed he knew the place. Or he didn't care. An hour or two with few interactions wasn’t enough to get a good read of someone like this man.

“Where are you going?” Kanda marched side by side to four-eyes.

The scientist hungry look was back on Nicholas’s face. “A nice place to stay. Once that is settled, you and I are going to have lunch and talk. There’s _a lot_ we both need to know.” He smiled and Kanda shuddered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave past!Allen a name because it would be weird for other characters to 'hey past!Allen'. There's a reason I chose the name Nicholas, I assure you.


	3. Nicholas Marian – He who of the gray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The color was neither white nor black.

Nicholas had said he wanted lodging and food, but the first place he led both of them to was a clothing store.

“Why the fuck are we here?” Kanda said from his spot by the cash register, watching the red head flitting around the racks. 

Nicholas’s grin was annoyingly smug as he replied while picking up a dress shirt, “Are those eyes of yours for decoration only? I have blood all over myself.” He raised one hand to gesture at his clothes, which had a large red stain at the abdomen and smaller splotches at the knees.

“So? Your fussy ass won’t get dissolved by mere blood.” 

“It’s not dissolving I’m thinking about, mister Kanda, but the troubles that may come. Such a sight often draws unfavorable attention, which I would like to avoid.” Nicholas disappeared into one changing booth with a bunch of clothes in his arms. “Not to mention, your demeanor alone has already made us stand out like a bald head. See our dear cashier for demonstration, if you want one.” 

The cashier Nicholas mentioned was checking the goods with unnatural fervor, the like of which Kanda knew was to hide stolen glances. He glared at the man, satisfied when he scurried as far out of Kanda’s earshot as permitted by the limited space of the store.

Nosy man problem averted, but then Kanda’s mind had to rewind what had happened at the Campbell’s mansion. He knew it was a colossally bad idea, but Allen had insisted on going. To know the truth, he had said. And the result had been Nea’s violent awakening forcing the beansprout to invoke his Innocence. Whether that worked or not, Kanda didn’t know. 

What he did know, however, was that Allen had vomited blood and fainted right in front of him. Kanda had  _ panicked _ at that, slitting his own wrist and forcing his blood into Allen’s mouth. It was counterproductive since the idiot was throwing up the same kind of liquid, but at that moment, he couldn’t think of anything else. Internal organ damage was a bitch seconded only to karma. And then there was the cursed ritual, too. If it was something too severe for Kanda’s blood to fix- 

Suddenly a cream-colored coat was shoved in Kanda’s face. He had to lean back from the offending article.

“What the hell, four-eyes?” Kanda fixed the red head with an incredulous glare.

Nicholas just smiled. “We didn’t get to pick up whatever luggage you and your Walker have. That means no coins for me.” He then retracted the clothes to put it on himself; meanwhile, his gaze went down to one gold button on Kanda’s uniform for a moment before moving back up. “So be generous this time, will you? It’s not like money is a problem for a General of the Black Order.” 

The red head being clueless about Allen’s clothes was a surprise. “You didn’t know?” 

Kanda’s cue was the inclination of the other’s head.

Kanda allowed a smirk to appear on his face. “Check those bloody clothes you changed out of.” He pointed at the pile of clothing the red head had dropped on one of the seats lining the wall. “And learn to stop being a smartass while you’re at it.”

Nicholas immediately started searching. Within two minutes, he dug out a treasure trove of cash from various hidden pockets in every items. Once done, he gave the amount of money an appraisal look.

“Your Walker is something, I must say. I didn’t even feel any differences in weight with the new clothes.” Nicholas commented with a refreshing lack of either haughtiness or mockery.

Kanda too was not scathing for once. “The beansprout is creative. Now hurry your ass up.” 

In a minute, they were done with the shopping. From there they went to find lodging as previously intended. Nicholas, now pleased, took the lead with longer strides and a slightly looser mouth. Kanda got to know that the man was a scientist and sorcerer, but his reputation – the one in the past – was that of a physician. The town wasn’t his birthplace, but he had visited it many times. Kanda helped Nicholas confirm that the last time he saw the world was thirty five years ago. He was physically well, meaning whatever injuries his body sustained when Allen was in control had gone. 

The man shared nothing further than those, which was fine with Kanda. They were on the street after all and God knew if some Akuma were lurking around eavesdropping things for the Noah. 

One thing, though. Nicholas had been adamant about the body being his to begin with. The conviction behind made it hard for Kanda to think of it as a joke. Unfortunately, the man had refused to further elaborate on the matter, saying that they should leave it for another time.

That brought a new problem about Allen Walker: if that body wasn’t his, then what had happened to his original one?

They stopped in front of a hotel named Poppy. It was a giant three-story building with vintage feel in its architecture. From the wrought iron fence, big front yard to the decorated arches of doors and windows. Expensiveness oozing from every corner and its bright color paint made it stick out in the middle of other common housing. 

“Hell no.” Kanda was exasperated.

“Heaven yes.” Nicholas quickly entered, not giving Kanda time to do anything.

He followed. “I’m not selling my things.” He had to say that. This hotel looked like one room could eat up all the money they had and the last time Kanda sold the ornament of his uniform, he got a headache from the science department’s yelling.  

But four-eyes ignored him for the favor of talking with the receptionist. For some reason, they chatted in a language unknown to Kanda.

“Are you listening, four-eyes?” Kanda wanted to draw Mugen so badly.

“Always, mister Kanda.” He dryly replied. Before Kanda could touch his blade, the man added. “I’m making one of the best arrangements you ever have in your life here. So kindly shut up, please~?” He purposely drawled.

“Make it one room with two single beds. I’m not letting you out of my sight.” If it wasn’t for Allen’s body, he would try to stab the bastard. Also, Kanda had to admit, he was curious – blamed the beansprout for rubbing off on him -  as to what four-eyes’ plan was. 

Nicholas flashed Kanda a toothy grin before turning back to the conversation with the other man. 

The two must have been talking about other things as well. Shady things, to be precise. Because, faced it, there was no way a simple check-in had to be done in something other than English. And the look on the receptionist’s face was speaking  _ volumes _ . 

Then Nicholas traced a pattern into the other man’s right palm. The act got the receptionist to stare at said palm for a minute before opening the check-in logbook and writing down. 

“All done, mister Kanda. We have a room and the lunch is being prepared.” Four-eyes announced triumphantly as he turned to Kanda.

“If you mess up, I’m not saving your ass.” Kanda crossed his arms, his eyes catching the previously exchanged symbol drawn next to their name in the logbook.

Nicholas just shrugged. “The most you might have to do is working here for three years for me trying to have a free stay in this hotel.” 

“What?” Kanda’s roar startled several guests in the lobby, but like he cared. It wasn’t the first time he saw something possibly lawless, but Allen’s card tricks never brought any sorts of harm to his companions. This, on the other hand, was blatantly selling him out.

And Kanda thought getting people to clean up after was a Cross’s thing only.

As if it wasn’t enough, Nicholas had to throw in a reply. “You can calm down, mister Kanda. It’s just a form of insurance in case my words are proven false, which can never be done.” His tone was like he was scolding a child.

No retort came as Kanda was trying to regulate his breathing. To calm down, he reasoned with himself that Nicholas was a human and Allen wasn’t quite dead. The former wasn’t very convincing, though.

“You must be very hungry to be that irate, mister Kanda. What do you say if we get some food inside that stomach of yours?” Nicholas turned on his heel and strode to the dining hall.

Kanda was right behind him. “Don’t you dare think you can dump your messes on me!” The way his statement sounded so much like a last-ditch effort made him to cringe internally.

Nicholas said no more, but his lips curled into a complacent smile that further irritated Kanda. Smart-ass. 

They sat down at a table in the back corner of the dining hall where no one would notice. The food was brought shortly after, the amount forming a mountain on the surface. Nicholas dug in right away, not one bit shy from displaying his humongous appetite while Kanda’s sullenly stabbed the content of his dish.

Now that Kanda thought about it, there was another mystery: Nicholas could invoke Innocence at full rate. Together with the fact that he didn’t look like someone who just discovered his sudden and mysterious change in diet, he must have been with the weapon for a long time. Could two people be compatible to one Innocence at the same time? Innocence were known to be picky; the files of Second Exorcist Program had explicitly stated that despite having the same brains, only one Exorcist – Kanda – was successfully created while the rest were rejected. And now, there was Nicholas Marian, wielding Innocence as easily as breathing.

Somewhere in Kanda’s mind, he doubted this was the last mystery.

“You got what you want. Now spill. What happened to Allen Walker?” He started first. Allen’s status was, naturally, the first in his priority list.

“Regarding your Walker, I have a theory.” spoke Nicholas after swallowing a mouthful.

That wasn’t what Kanda wanted to hear. “You said you could tell how he was, four-eyes. Do you  _ really _ know?” 

Nicholas wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Of course I do, mister Kanda. For your information, I am the one who devised the ritual in the first place.” His displeased expression was quickly replaced by a sardonic smirk when he saw Kanda’s astonishment. “Or, at least, the prototype of the one you saw. That alone is enough for theorizing. And surprise! A theory is the closest you can have for now, mister Kanda, unless you can provide me with the developed diagram.”

The frown once again appeared on Kanda’s face. Nicholas was right. And having the original creator was better than none at all. That didn’t mean he liked it.

“So,” Nicholas continued. “How much do you know about alchemy?”

The question brought up images of one Komui Lee and his many nasty concoctions. “Enough. What about it?”

“You see, the ritual employs both magic and alchemy. It-” The man abruptly paused. With his lower lip jutted out, he looked thoughtful for a moment before resuming his speech. “It has two primary functions. First, it creates an exact copy of my body. Then, Nea and your Walker are transferred to the duplicate. That way, I can regain this body while my friend consume Walker, which will be a piece of cake since Walker’s energy is drained to supply the whole ritual. But, as we all know-”

Nicholas had yet to finish, but Kanda had stood up and drawn Mugen. The metal sang as the blade left its sheath, gleaming dangerously with the tip pointed at the red head. 

“Friend?” Kanda hissed. “You are a Noah follower?”

The smile on Nicholas’ lips became full of arrogance. “Your assumption wounded me, mister Kanda. I’m not that lowly. I simply have a friend who happens to be a Noah.” 

It didn’t make Kanda lower his sword. “It’s still the same! Did you forget what the Noah are? What you are? Or what they do?”

“Oh mister Kanda, how wrong you are~” Nicholas said with a sing-song voice, clearly not the slightest perturbed. “Let me repeat it for you. I’m no servant to the Noah clan. My loyalty to Nea is from our friendship only. As for the fact that the Noah want to destroy humanity, so what? As long as I’m not hurted, I don’t care if the man next to me drops dead.”

Kanda couldn’t quite believe in his ears. “You think the Noah won’t kill you just because one of them acts friendly?” He gave a withering glare. In both the past and present, Tyki Mikk had been a prime example, killing people at the drop of a hat while being twistedly amiable.

“Ahaha!” The man fucking  _ laughed _ . “I don’t think so. I  _ believe _ so. But for a different reason.” He raised his hand up in a mock salute “That is, humanity needs me.”

This fucker had very strange idea. “Like hell it is! You are just one man.” Kanda spat, his sword arm not wavering.

The look on Nicholas’ face said that he was enjoying this. “One man, true. But tell me, mister Kanda, how did humanity grow? The Noah seek its destruction. You Exorcists fight to preserve it. But what else? Nothing. It’s just a stagnating tug of war.”    

“No, to be this advanced, humanity has to depend on someone else. Someone who brings advancement. Someone like tinkerers, discoverers, inventors. Great minds that seek to understand the world. Great minds like  _ me _ . We scientists are the progress, the evolution, the transformation. The gray in the midst of the white of you Exorcists and the black of the Noah.” 

“Progress my ass! Your disgusting thing was going to sacrifice Walker! Which part of it is ‘progress’?” The speech only made Kanda more furious than ever.

Nicholas’s grin never ceased. “The sacrifice, of course. Humanity is one big ouroboros that eats itself as the price to crawl forward. Your Walker is but a tiny part in its grand scheme, meant to die for another’s sake. Though, should you be so shocked? I’m sure there are scientists on your side who committed similar or greater atrocities.”

There were. There were the Epstain, the Chang, and probably more. They had made monsters like those Third Exorcists. Like Kanda. All the while claiming that their creations were for the sake of the world. They would never stop.

Death had been the reward for their acts.

Kanda lunged for Nicholas, leaping over the large table. Mugen could kill, he could kill. Maybe taking a human’s life was taboo to an Exorcist, but his hate was making him see red and Nicholas was an exception. A dangerous, twisted exception.

Food was sent flying. With a foot, Nicholas pushed himself together with the chair skidding backward and away from the slash. The distance was short, however, only took Kanda a step to get the man in reach again. There was no escaping the next strike.

Except, Kanda found himself literally frozen. He searched with his eyes and saw a bright glow coming from Nicholas’ right hand. 

Magic. Kanda wanted to curse himself for forgetting that the man was also a sorcerer.

“Murderous, aren’t you?” Nicholas’ bright smile only stirred Kanda’s hatred. “Sadly, I’m no easy meat. Besides, don’t you want your Walker alive?”

“I come back to kill him.” snarled Kanda. “If the Fourteenth wins, I kill him. Finish you now will do that just fine.”

And Allen would not feel any pain. The world would be cleansed of one rotten man and the Noah wouldn’t reincarnate. Therefore, in a way, Kanda’s debt to him would be paid in full.

“Ha! Such a lying brute! Then, why didn’t you strike me down when I first appeared? Why now?” Nicholas kept talking while Kanda struggled to move. “What is your real intention, mister Exorcist?”

Kanda said nothing. He was done with talking and his intention wasn’t something to show just anybody, let alone this fucker before him.

Nicholas kept talking. “Now now, you honestly believe I will buy your mercy killing reason? That is no different from saying the Innocence are not monsters. They are like the Noah-”

Nicholas left hand abruptly flew to his chest, grasping the lapel while a gasp escaped his lips. Feathers sprouted from his left arm, lightly swaying in the air:  Crown Clown had activated by itself. Kanda felt the paralysis leave his body and he thrusted his sword without a second wasted.

However, when Mugen was an inch from the man’s face, Kanda was paralyzed again. Though in pain by virtue of the Innocence, Nicholas still managed to recast his spell. 

No easy meat, indeed.

“You will kill if it’s Nea, but what if Walker lives?” Nicholas’ shaky smile was  fading away. “Will you still chop him up?”

Kanda blinked once. He wouldn’t. His target was the Noah, not him. Not even if he was filled with rage like now. But Nicholas-

The man continued with a serious look on. “Walker still has his chance, I can confirm. Will you deprive him of that?” 

No, he would not.

“You have come so far, and you will go even further for him, no?”

Yes.

“What is your real intention, mister Kanda?” 

Helping Allen Walker. Assisting him until he reached an ending. 

Realization hit Kanda, pulling him back to sanity. This was not an ending. Rather, this was a little breather from the long thorny road. Allen would walk again soon. He  _ would _ . He was a resilient soul, the most Kanda had ever known in his life.

That meant Kanda couldn’t just kill off Nicholas where he sat.

Nicholas spoke up after those few minutes of Kanda coming down from his homicidal fury. “I will release you, then we talk. This time, we do it properly. What do you say?” 

With a snap of fingers, the paralysis was dispelled as promised. Kanda lightly rolled his shoulder, testing muscles. Next, he raised his sword. And slashed.

A scratch was made on the left lense of Nicholas’ glasses. The man simply swiped a finger along it and with a muted glow, it disappeared. Kanda sheathed his sword.

“Mister Kanda had made his choice. Now your turn, little holy parasite.” At Nicholas’ words, Crown Clown slowly went back to being an arm.

Kanda glared hard at the man. “I only tell things that worth the same with yours.” By no means had he completely calmed down, but he had to do this.

“Fair enough.” A truce had been reached.

Nicholas then gestured to Kanda’s chair. Kanda went around the table, carefully avoided the food scattering on the floor. 

“Where were we?” said the red head. “Was I explaining how without me, Walker wouldn’t exist at all? Or was I going to say that Walker actually swapped place with me and is sleeping deep within-”


End file.
